Our view: Be safe this beach season

Posted: May 25, 2012 - 11:13pm

Today marks the official opening of St. Johns County’s beaches.

Official? Official. Years ago, a county official told us that when you see the lifeguards in their towers, the beach is officially open. That’s today. St. Johns County Marine Rescue lifeguards begin their tour of duty for beach season 2012. From now through Labor Day weekend they will be in their towers along several miles of the county’s shoreline from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., weather permitting.

In the rush to get to the beach, we caution our swimmers and surfers to be aware of their surroundings, to check out the tides and weather conditions on the beach information line, 209-0331. Check in with the lifeguards for hazards such as treacherous rip currents. The St. Johns County website, http://sjcfl.us/Beaches/Safety.aspx provides details about rip currents, the state’s most deadly ocean-related event. The National Weather Service says more than 25 people die in the surf in Florida annually from being caught in a rip current. Learn how to spot a rip current and make sure family and friends with you know that, too.

St. Johns County still allows driving on the beach in certain areas but not without a beach pass. The county issues beach passes for daily and seasonal entry between from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. daily. Clearing the beach traffic actually starts at 6:30 p.m. by local law enforcement.

Beach toll takers can sell both the daily and seasonal driving passes that are good through Sept. 30. Seasonal passes cost county residents, $40; non-residents, $50. Daily passes are $6 for county residents and $7 for non-residents.

The beach speed limit is 10 mph. Follow directional signs along the beach, for a safe drive and safe parking.

Don’t forget the turtles. This is turtle nesting season and nests are already appearing. Turtles decide where they want to build their nests so turtle patrol volunteers work on identifying the species and ensuring they are secured from vehicles and from onlookers.

Stay away from the nests so that the mother turtle and the hatchlings can survive. St. Johns County provides a weekly update during the nesting season at http://sjcfl.us/media/turtletracks.pdf. It will give you an update on the species nesting and the number of nests. As of Friday, there are 20 nests from North Beach to Crescent Beach. Between now and the end of the season on Oct. 31, anywhere from 250 to more than 600 nests could occur based on weather conditions and prior year counts.

We want everyone who goes to the beach to come back home safely and likewise, for our turtle nests to continue to grow and provide hundreds of new turtles for the sake of our environment.